IBM TSM FastBack
Showing posts with label IBM TSM FastBack. Show all posts
Showing posts with label IBM TSM FastBack. Show all posts

6.4 FCoE Connectivity Models

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You can deploy FCoE SAN on the existing FC SAN infrastructure. The most common FCoE connectivity uses FCoE switches to interconnect a CEE network containing hosts with an FC SAN containing storage systems. The hosts have FCoE ports that provide connectivity to the FCoE switches. The FCoE switches enable the consolidation of FC traffic and Ethernet traffic onto CEE links.
FCoE Connectivity

 This type of FCoE connectivity is suitable when an organization has an existing FC SAN environment. Connecting FCoE hosts to the FC storage systems through FCoE switches do not require any change in the FC environment.

 Also Read: Functions of Converged Enhanced Ethernet (CEE)

 And the other type of FCoE connectivity model is the end-to-end FCoE model. Some vendors offer FCoE ports in their storage systems. These storage systems connect directly to the FCoE switches. 
end-to-end FCoE

The FCoE switches form FCoE fabrics between hosts and storage systems and provide end-to-end FCoE support. The end-to-end FCoE connectivity is suitable for a new FCoE deployment.

Types of ports used in FCoE Connections


FCoE utilizes virtual ports, which emulate the behavior of regular FC ports. FCoE virtual ports establish virtual FC links between the devices in an FCoE SAN. The different FCoE port types are listed below

VN_Port: It is an end point in an FCoE SAN. Typically, it is a CNA port or an FCoE storage system port that is connected to an FCoE switch in the FCoE SAN.

VF_Port: It is a port on an FCoE switch that connects a VN_Port.

VE_Port: It is a port that forms the connection between two FCoE switches. The VE_Port on an FCoE switch connects to the VE_Ports of another FCoE switch in an FCoE SAN.

Virtualization in FCoE SAN

FCoE protocol enables transmission of FC SAN traffic through an Ethernet LAN that supports Data Center Bridging (DCB) functionalities. If VLANs and VSANs are created on the LAN and FC SAN respectively, a mapping is required between the VLANs and VSANs.

 The mapping determines which VLAN will carry FC traffic that belongs to a VSAN. The VSAN to VLAN mapping is performed at the FCoE switch level. Multiple VSANs are not allowed to share a VLAN; hence a dedicated VLAN must be configured at the FCoE switch for each VSAN. It is also recommended that VLANs that carry regular LAN traffic should not be used for VSAN traffic.

 Previous: 6.3 Introduction to Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) SAN
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Follow these steps to add storage to the TSM Fastback Server repository by using DiskOpen Utility

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DiskOpen Utility is a program that was developed in order to establish read/write privileges to a physical disk after FastBack Server Software has been installed. After you install Tivoli Storage Manager FastBack Server software, any drive you attach to the FastBack server will need to be opened for read/write privileges before being used. 

 If you use the "Add Repository Wizard" to add a disk to the Repository like shown below, you can select to add the whole disk to the repository, and FastBack Manager will open the disk for read/write for you, so you do not have to perform the DiskOpen.

Add Repository

If you plan to add the volume (e:\(New Volume) in this case), you must use the DiskOpen utility. In FastBack version 5.5.2 and later, the DiskOpen executable is located in the following directory:
                  C:\Program Files\Tivoli\TSM\FastBack\utilities


For older versions of FastBack, the utility must be obtained from the Tivoli Storage Manager FastBack Support team. Any time you try to write data to the drive, all the data will go to the buffer, and though it may seem that data is being copied to the drive, if you restart your server the data will be gone (because it was never able to physically write the data to the drive). Depending on the amount of data written to the disk you might see some errors reported by the system, specifically "Delayed Write Failed" errors will be logged in the windows system event logs, Other common side affects may include failure to initialize and format new disks.

How to Use DiskOpen Utility in TSM Fastback Server ?

The DiskOpen Utility must be run from the command line. DiskOpen has one argument, that is the disk number of the respective disk you want to open for read/write privileges. 
C:\Program Files\Tivoli\TSM\FastBack\utilities

Attaching a disk with existing data to the FastBack server is not recommended since the existing data might get corrupted. Before using this utility you should find out the Disk Number for that particular disk in which you created a New Volume and want to add Read/Write permissions. You can find the disk number in Windows Disk Management.
Right click on My Computer and choose Manage.
Expand the Storage menu and click on Disk Management.
From the screenshot below you can see the E drive (REP_E) is Disk number 1

Adding storage to TSM FB repository

Also Read: Run these commands to completely uninstall TSM Server

 There are two modes for this application: Regular mode, and Forever mode. 

Regular mode opens the disk only once, and next time you restart your server that disk will no longer have write privileges. You will want to use this mode when temporarily adding a drive to the server, such as a USB drive. 

Forever mode is used to permanently grant write privileges to that disk, and should be used when adding a new drive to the system. To use the forever mode you must put the following flag after the initial argument: "forever". 

EXAMPLES:
Temporary write privileges are allowed:
DiskOpen 1

Forever write privileges are allowed:
DiskOpen 1 forever

Troubleshooting TSM Fastback server connection issues and errors with Fastback Client

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In this post I will discuss some of the common errors and return codes that we see while working on TSM Fastback Server. The best solution to avoid these annoying errors is to read the manual and meet all the requirements before you start playing with it.

FastBack Client may not connect to the server when specifying IP address in Client Configurator
FastBack Client doesn't connect to FastBack Server even though the correct IP address of the server is specified in FastBack Client Configurator. This problem happens in case that hostname of the server cannot be resolved by specified IP address. FBSA6037E message box brings up from FastBack Client Configurator in case hostname cannot be resolved by the specified IP address. The following errors can be found in FastBack Client technician logs after FastBack Service restarts.:
E18.ORA_Agent : OAI_S_Init: Failed to resolve host name nnn.nnn.nnn.nnn
E18.ORA_Agent : OAI_S_Init: Will wait 1 hour before exit and restart

Solution:
Add hostname and IP address into hosts file of the client machine, or specifies DNS server in the property panel of Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) to resolve hostname by IP address.

 Also Read: 6 steps to claim TSM Fastback Server Repository

FBSG5804E Please verify IP/Computer name because of connection failure at 127.0.0.1
The FastBack Manager cannot connect to the FastBack server. The following error comes up in a dialogue box upon FastBack Manager start and looks like this:

Fastback Manager

 Solution:
The default location for the FastBack server technician logs is here:
Windows 2003: %documents and settings%\all users\application data\tivoli\tsm\fastback\ 
Windows 2008: %programdata%\tivoli\tsm\fastback\

Review the latest technican log (FAST_BACK_SERVER040.sf) and search on the failure message. Specifying the Fastback server hostname or IP address would solve the problem in most cases.  If not clicking connect option multiple times until the dialogue box disappears will work as well. However, this error message will not stop any of your fastback server processes. 

What is FastBack Checkpoint Snapshots ?
In the FastBack Manager there is an option to run a Checkpoint snapshot against the policy which most of us never use it. A Checkpoint Snapshot can be performed by right clicking on a policy and selecting Run Check Point. 

 Also Read: Integrating TSM Fastback Server with TSM Server

A Checkpoint will compare the data on the client against the data on the server and backup all changes that have occurred since the last known successful Full, Incremental Delta Block, or Checkpoint snapshot. When performing a Checkpoint backup, blocks that were captured with a regular Incremental Snapshot will be recaptured. Although this will again backup the blocks, it will not fix any corruption that may have occurred within the snapshot data.

FBSS7068E the volumes length exceeds the maximum support volume length
Some of the related return codes of this error are FBSS7068E, FBSS7068E, and FBSS7027E. All Snapshot backups will get aborted with these return codes when attempting a snapshot. The possible main reason would be if snapshot size exceeds 2TB.

To know why the backup has been aborted right click on the aborted snapshot and select Events. Window may show the following errors:
FBSS7068E The volume's length exceeds the maximum support volume length
FBSS7027E System error. Fault [8179:0x00000100]. Process ended.
FBSS7037E Procedure aborted

Solution:
There is no exact solution for this error if you have configured your Fastback server without meeting all the Fastback Server requirements. There is a FastBack limitation whereby the snapshot size cannot exceed 2TB or the snapshot will abort. This size limitation is noted in the FastBack manual. Thats why it is always important to read the manual before you use it.

Tivoli Storage Manager FastBack does not support backing up of volumes larger than 2 TB. Ensure to check that the volume you are backing up is less than 2 TB.

If you are stuck in this kind of situation, the only solution is Uninstall Fastback Server and change your disk size (must be less than 2TB). Reinstall Fastback server with all the requirements met and try the snapshot backup again. 

6 steps to claim a TSM Fastback Server repository with the same exisitng server configuration

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If it is required to move the existing TSM Fastback server repository to a new machine or storage due to various reasons, IBM has a recommended some methods to do it. It is recommended to follow the recommended method in order to secure your backups.  This post will explain how to move an existing TSM Fastback server to another machine or how to claim an old Fastback repository to a new Fastback Server without losing your configuration settings.

Moving or Claiming a TSM Fastback Server Repository:

If you are upgrading your Fastback server, or just moving to another machine, you can use this as a general guide on steps for the move, and what files to move to the other machine. This is for Fastback servers that are currently running and whose data can be accessed. This method will help you keep your data/repository, your policies, and your schedules. This is the IBM recommended method and I advice you to first test this on a test fastback server and implement on the production server to minimize errors.

 Integrating TSM Fastback Server with TSM Server

Step 1: Make a copy of essential FastBack Configuration files
The First step is to backup a copy of FastBack Servers essential configuration files. Before you copy the files make sure to stop the FastBack Server Service from the services control panel. You should do this step on a daily basis to secure your Fastback server from sudden disasters. The FastBack Configuration files are located by default in the 
"C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Tivoli\TSM\Fastback\Server" directory. 

You can copy the whole folder, or to save space you can just copy the following configuration files, to a temporary location on your network. 
  1. History.txt and History.txt.sig: This is keeps track of all the snapshots in your repository
  2. Orabr_Conf.txt and Orabr_Conf.txt.sig: This keeps track of your general Configurations
  3. Conf.txt and Conf.txt.sig: This keeps track of policy and scheduling configurations
  4. Clog10.sf: General Log and error messages
  5. Users_enc..txt and Users_enc.txt.sig: Keeps log in and user account information
  6. Inprogress.txt and Inprogress.txt.sig: Keeps the current Job ID counter
  7. State.txt and State.txt.sig: Keeps the current state of the different process that are running
Step 2: Remove the old Fastback Server from the network.
This step is very important because even if you uninstall Fastback server, fastback clients will still point to the old Fastback server. Power down your old server and remove it from the network. Attach your new server to the network and power it up. Move any physical drives that need to be attached to the target (the new Fastback Server) at this time.

If you attach a drive or drive array to the target server after the Fastback Server software has been installed you will need to use the DISK OPEN utility to allow read and write privileges for it (by default any disk added to the Fastback server after Fastback software has been installed, is read only).

 Also Read: Tips to fix the TSM server startup problems

Step 3: New Fastback Server Installation
Make sure your new computer meets the requirements for TSM Fastback Installation. Install the Fastback software on the target computer. Go through the Installation Wizard and choose the TSM Fastback Server option.

If you change the network name on the target server, you will have to manually open up the Client Configuration on the client machines and change the target to the new Fastback server (This will also be true if you are using IP address instead of network names).

Step 4: Copying Over the Policies and Configuration Files
This is the important step where you should copy the important files which have all the configuration details of your old Fastback Server. Stop the FastBack server Service and then copy over the data from step one. Only copy over the following files. Please don't play with these important files at any circumstances, if they are corrupted then they will be useless.
  1. History.txt
  2. History.txt.sig
  3. Orabr_Conf.txt
  4. Orabr_Conf.txt.sig
  5. Clog.sf
  6. Users_enc.txt
  7. Users_enc.txt.sig
  8. Inprogress.txt
  9. Inprogress.txt.sig
  10. State.txt
  11. State.txt.sig
Place copies of them in the following locations:

1. C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Tivoli\TSM\Fastback\Server
2. C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Tivoli\TSM\Fastback\Server\Mirror

Step 5: Moving or Claiming your Repository
Start the FastBack Server Service after completing step 4. It will take a couple of minutes to go through it initialization phase. After the initialization phase, approximately 5 minutes, you can start the FastBack Manager GUI. Upon start up the FastBack Server is not going to automatically know where the repository space is. You will need to go to the 

"General Configuration -> Storage Pool -> Repository Pool", right click on repository pool and select "Claim Repository". You will need to claim each repository space you had for you old server. Make sure the repository volumes keep the same drive letter as they had on the original server.

If you start the Fastback Manager and it is in Limited Mode, you will not be able to "Claim Repository" until you fix the limited mode issue.

 Also Read: IBM Spectrum Protect (TSM) Basic Free Tutorials

Step 6: Checking your new Fastback Server Configuration setup
You can verify that the procedure worked by making sure all your settings exist in the configuration menu and that your policies exist as well. You can also select any particular policy and Right Click it, and select "Run Snapshot", this will verify that your new server can communicate with the clients. Check to make sure that the snapshot ran in the Snapshot Monitor.

What is Tivoli Storage Manager TSM Fastback for Workstation clients - Video Tutorial

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IBM Tivoli Storage Manager FastBack for Workstations is a data protection solution for user workstations and notebook computers on the Microsoft Windows platform. Tivoli Storage Manager FastBack for Workstations clients offer transparent, real-time replication and scheduled backup services. The central administration console allows you to manage many clients throughout the enterprise.

 Tivoli Storage Manager FastBack for Workstations client
The Tivoli Storage Manager FastBack for Workstations client provides a flexible, easy to use file protection system. Your most important files can be continuously protected. Your less important files can be protected at scheduled intervals to save time and storage space. Email files can also be protected. And you can prevent any changes (including deletions) to files in folders that you designate as vaults.

Continuously protected files are backed up to a local drive. This means that backup copies are created even when network conditions prevent storing backup copies remotely. Continuously protected files can also be stored on remote storage locations, when network connections allow. If a remote location is not available when you change a continuously protected file, the Tivoli Storage Manager FastBack for Workstations client makes a backup copy on that device as soon as the device becomes available. Scheduled backup copies are created on the interval that you configure (hourly, weekly, daily, or monthly). If the remote device for scheduled backups is not available at the time of the backup, theTivoli Storage Manager FastBack for Workstations client makes backup copies on the remote location as soon as that device becomes available.

Also Read: Storage Area Network (SAN) Basic Free Tutorials
Every time you change a file, a backup copy is created. You can choose which version of a protected file you want to restore, and configure how many backup copies to save.
This diagram provides an overview of how the Tivoli Storage Manager FastBack for Workstations client protects your data.
Product overview diagram. Continuously protected files can be backed up to local storage or remote storage. E-mail and other files that are protected on a schedule can be backed up only to remote storage. You can restore files from either local storage or remote storage.
After installation of a Tivoli Storage Manager FastBack for Workstations client, the client immediately provides continuous protection for a pre-configured list of files. You can see the backup copies in the \RealTimeBackup\ folder in the root of your primary drive. The backup copies can also be seen in the list of files that you can restore with the Restore Wizard of the client. The default space allocated for your backup copies is 500 MB.
You can configure other lists of files to protect, other storage areas, scheduled protection, and other protection options, using the client or the central administration console.
Also Read: IBM Spectrum Protect (TSM) Basic Free Tutorials
Tivoli Storage Manager FastBack for Workstations can store backup copies on a Tivoli Storage Manager server, but there is no requirement to use Tivoli Storage Manager. Tivoli Storage Manager FastBack for Workstations is a stand-alone product and has no dependencies on Tivoli Storage Manager or Tivoli Storage Manager FastBack.
Basics of Tivoli Storage Manager FastBack for Workstations central administration console (CAC)

With the Tivoli Storage Manager FastBack for Workstations central administration console, you can centrally manage many Tivoli Storage Manager FastBack for Workstations clients.
With the central administration console, you can manage Tivoli Storage Manager FastBack for Workstations clients in the following ways:
  • Discover existing Tivoli Continuous Data Protection for Files and Tivoli Storage Manager FastBack for Workstations clients.
  • Monitor the activity of clients to determine the health of your data protection system.
  • Tune performance of clients and react to potential problems to maintain the highest level of data protection. You can update configurations and send command scripts.
  • Deploy software updates throughout the enterprise.
The central administration console is a tool for monitoring and managing the clients. The central administration console makes an administrator's job easier, but is not a requirement for protecting your data. Tivoli Storage Manager FastBack for Workstations clients can protect your data without the central administration console. If you do not install the central administration console or if the central administration console is not running, your data is still protected by the Tivoli Storage Manager FastBack for Workstations clients.
Also Read: TSM Fastback Installation & Configuration Steps
Tivoli Storage Manager FastBack for Workstations can store backup copies on a Tivoli Storage Manager server, but there is no requirement to use Tivoli Storage Manager. Tivoli Storage Manager FastBack for Workstations is a stand-alone product and has no dependencies on Tivoli Storage Manager or Tivoli Storage Manager FastBack.
The following concepts are key to understanding the central administration console: groups and administration folders:
Groups
With the central administration console, you can administer many clients at a time. You can filter and select clients based on several criteria, but a typical filter is achieved by assigning clients with similar data-protection needs to the same group.
Administration folders
The central administration console communicates with clients by sharing information with clients in administration folders.

How to restore TSM FastBack Exchange Individual Email and .PST file - Video Tutorial

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Points to remember while doing this FB Exchange Individual Email restore process:

Define the correct FastBack server IP address in the FastBack client configuration.If the NIC interfaces on the FastBack server have IP addresses that belong to different networks, use the route command on the FastBack client computers to connect to the correct FastBack server IP address. It is best practice to maintain single NIC card on FastBack server to restrict annoying problems like this

Example (Windows):
route add <fastback address="" ip="" server=""> <fastback address="" gateway="" ip="" server="">

The <fastback address="" ip="" server=""> is the IP address of the NIC to which the FastBack server service is assigned.

The <fastback address="" gateway="" ip="" server=""> is the IP address of the FastBack server NIC, which is connected to the same network with the FastBack client.



FastBack Client doesn't connect to FastBack Server even though the correct IP address of the server is specified in FastBack Client Configurator. This problem happens in case that hostname of the server cannot be resolved by specified IP address.

Add hostname and IP address into hosts file of the client machine, or specifies DNS server in the property panel of Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) to resolve hostname by IP address.

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After you install Tivoli Storage Manager FastBack Server software, any drive you attach to the FastBack server will need to be opened for read/write privileges before being used.


If you use the "Add Repository Wizard" to add a disk to the Repository, you can select to add the whole disk to the repository, and FastBack Manager will open the disk for read/write for you, so you do not have to perform the DiskOpen.

If you plan to add the volume (e:\(New Volume) in this case), you must use the DiskOpen utility.

Warning: Attaching a disk with existing data to the FastBack server is not recommended since the existing data might get corrupted.

Also Read: IBM Spectrum Protect (TSM) Basic Free Tutorials

A FastBack for Exchange restore fails with MAPI Error even when the Storage Group Database is mounted. The following error message is displayed:


"FBSX7059E Error enumerating items in mailbox.
Ensure that Storage Group Database is mounted."

Complete the actions in the following checklist to resolve the problem:
·       Ensure that a mailbox exists.
·       Ensure that the mailbox is active. In other words, you can log into this mailbox and you can send or receive messages.
·       Ensure that you have sufficient privileges to access mailbox.
·       Ensure that the Exchange server where the mailbox database is located is accessible.
·       Ensure that the Microsoft Information Store service is running.
·       Ensure that the Microsoft Exchange System Attendant service is running.
·       Ensure that For Exchange 2010, the RPC Client Service is running.



After you verify all of these checks, install ExchangeMAPICDO again.


On Exchange Server 2010, restore of an individual mailbox fails with this message:

"Mailbox restore failed. ACN5909E The MAPI subsystem logon has failed.
Please check that you have an active mailbox and sufficient privileges for this operation."

Resolving the problem
Due to Microsoft changes in Exchange Server 2010, it was necessary to have both the Client Access Server Role and the Mailbox Server Role installed on the machine where the Data Protection for Exchange mailbox restore is being performed. This limitation only exists until the following fixes are applied.


Microsoft has corrected this problem and the fix is included in the Exchange 2010 SP1 Rollup 2 release. The Data Protection Exchange client will also need to be upgraded to version 6.1.3.1 or greater as indicated in APAR IC73387. After both of these fixes are in place, then the Mailbox Restore will be able to be performed when the Client Access Server and Mailbox Server roles are on separate machines within the Exchange 2010 environment.

If the Data Protection for Exchange has been upgraded, but not the Exchange Server software, it is possible to set the CLIENTACCESSserver parameter in the tdpexc.cfg file to point to the CAS Server directly. This will also allow the individual mailbox restore to process when running on an Exchange 2010 Server that has not been upgraded to SP1 Rollup2 or greater.


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